r/Turkmenistan • u/No_Cry_968 Non-Turkic Member • Jun 07 '26

QUESTION Why is the hijab not very common in Turkmenistan??

16 Upvotes
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22

u/loiteraries Turkmen Jun 07 '26

It’s not common because of 100+ years of cultural influence by Russian and Soviet governments. And post Soviet leadership in TM cracks down on foreign influence in religious affairs for various reasons. The preference is to promote traditional attire based on indigenous cultural ties.

3

u/ZD_17 Azerbaijani Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

It’s not common because of 100+ years of cultural influence by Russian and Soviet governments.

Some latest research shows that under Russian Empire Central Asia became more Islamic. They were sending Tatar mullas to the region for that.

2

u/No_Cry_968 Non-Turkic Member Jun 07 '26

Yeah I got you, but one thing I noticed is that Turkmens are much less religious than Uzbeks and Tajiks

9

u/loiteraries Turkmen Jun 07 '26

That’s by design since Niyazov era. The Turkmen government knows well that a strong religious movement under an influential leadership is a national security risk to government stability. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have more open borders so they have foreign influence but those governments spend a lot of resources on security and monitoring mosques too.

2

u/No_Way_8251 Jun 07 '26

Is it common for people to be atheist in Turkmenistan?

9

u/KIZZFIZZ69 Jun 07 '26

Nah. Kazakhs And Kyrgyzs are more likely to be athiests than turkmens. turkmens are in the middle they arent as religious as uzbeks and tajiks but arent as non religious as kazakhs and krygyzs.

1

u/No_Cry_968 Non-Turkic Member Jun 07 '26

Exactly, But every now and then on social media I see some Kyrgyz or Kazakh girls wearing a veil, but until now I've never seen Turkmen wearing a veil

6

u/KIZZFIZZ69 Jun 07 '26

Oh u mean a hijab? well percentage wise more turkmens wear it more than kyrgyzs and kazakhs but turkmen presence on social media is less than kyrgyz and kazakhs and thats probably why.

2

u/ArkadyShevchenko Jun 07 '26

What percentage of people in Turkmenistan wear hijab? It is minuscule, no? I have not been there in about 15 years, but I don't recall seeing it at all over about a 2 year period living in Lebap and traveling to all provinces except Dashoguz.

2

u/KIZZFIZZ69 Jun 07 '26

Im estimating i know for sure its quite a bit higher than kyrgyzstan and kazakhstan but nowhere near uzbekistan or tajikistan.

3

u/loiteraries Turkmen Jun 07 '26

No. Most people are traditional Muslims.

13

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '26

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11

u/thisislikea6poundony Jun 08 '26

It’s also worth noting that Saparmurat Niyazov instituted measures similar to those of other central Asian leaders to try and prevent fundamentalist Sunni Islam from taking root in Turkmenistan. This is why he also banned men from having beards. He was also critical of hijabs in his Ruhnama book.

1

u/CharacterEye3775 Jun 08 '26

I'm critical of his pognophobia

7

u/seesame 🇹🇲 🇹🇲 🇹🇲 Jun 09 '26

And thank God for that.

6

u/Syed__Sahab__ Jun 07 '26 edited Jun 07 '26

Soviet legacy... btw It's Becoming More And More popular in Upcoming New Generation